Problems finding a decent VHS capture card
 

Hello!
I have some questions regarding VHS capturing.

Here is my current setup:

• VCR: JVC HR-S7700EU (with TBC)
• Computer: Brand new laptop (Intel Core i7, Windows 7 Home, 6GB RAM (can be expanded up to 16GB if necessary), SSD, 500GB HDD for internal storage, ExpressCard 34/54 slot and USB 3.0 ports)
• External storage: NAS, external USB 2.0 HDD’s
• Capture device: Plextor Video Grabber (a cheap USB device)

What gives me head ache is the capture device. The one I own is a low-cost USB device and I take it there are much better alternatives. I’ve searched for ATI All-In-Wonder cards without any luck, at least not here in Europe; the only such cards found are either named TV tuner card or Graphics card.
The only other devices which seems to be suitable are the Black Magic Intensity Pro and the Canopus ADVC-55/-110 devices. Also, I found Black Magic Intensity Pro shuttle, which seems to be a stand-alone device, but I’m not sure if it’s ideal for capturing analog video.

However, the Intensity Pro (not the Shuttle) seems to have a PCI Express interface (which is not compatible with ExpressCard, or is it?), and I’ve heard some less positive things on the Canopus devices. So I’m back on square one it seems :)

So basically, I would like to know if (1) the Black Magic Intensity Pro works with ExpressCard and if it’s a wellworth choice, or (2) if there are any alternative external or (expresscard-compatible) capture devices available which outputs best possible quality without breaking the bank?

Thank you in advance.

Where are you, precisely? Note: Though I tried to cheat, your IP address shows Sweden, but the hostname shows Norway. Doh! Please confirm the location. Sometimes geoIP is wrong. This appears to be one of those times. And then are you adverse to buying from eBay UK, Amazon.co.uk, or eBay Germany? What about from USA or Canada?

ATI AIW cards are for desktops.

The ATI 600 USB cards are for laptops/notebooks or desktops. These work nicely, though PAL can only capture AVI in VirtualDub. The ATI 600 USB card is a North American card with an NTSC tuner, and NTSC only ATI CMC MPEG capture software. But the it does nicely with PAL AVI.

ExpressCard compatible devices tend to state "ExpressCard" and not something else. The Intensity Pro is an desktop PCI Express slot card, not the laptop ExpressCard.

Now then, you can add USB 3.0 to your laptop, with an ExpressCard adapter. And then there are Blackmagic USB 3.0 cards available. I've not tested these specific cards, however. But I would be surprised if they did not work excellently at capturing, as most Blackmagic cards are quite good.

Thanks for you input!

That's a very naughty thing to do :)

I'm in Sweden, although Norway is "just around the corner". I regurarly shop from Amazon.co.uk and sometimes even from Amazon.de. And no, I don't mind buying from the US or Canada, it's just the anxious part of me who worries (a little to much, perhaps) about any additional custom-related fees or shipping charges that may apply when buying from outside Scandinavia or the EU.

***

Actually, all USB ports on my new laptop is USB 3.0 compatible so the expansion slot is still free (I mention this just in case you would recomend a FireWire card or anything else for which the exp. slot may become useful.

***

Regarding ATI 600 USB, is this the one you are referring to?
http://www.amazon.com/Wonder-Digital...ds=ati+600+usb

All my VHS tapes are PAL (I even think I've got an old VCC tape - Video 2000-, but that's a different story), but I've heard of VirtualDub and although it seems to come with an array of options I'm not afraid to use it.

Regarding BlackMagic

I found these devices after a quick search on amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Blackmagic-Des...kmagic+USB+3.0
http://www.amazon.com/Blackmagic-Des...kmagic+USB+3.0
http://www.amazon.com/Blackmagic-Des...kmagic+USB+3.0

Cheers!

Your VCR probably doesn't have SDI outputs.. so if you don't have thunderbolt this is the only budget BM external capture device:

http://www.markertek.co.uk/Catalog/V...ENSITY-SHUTTLE

If you choose that one, double check that your USB3 chipset is supported. There has been huge compatibility problems in the past. Also you need external TBC to clean the signal, otherwise BM will drop a lot of frames directly from JVC.

Hi juhok and thanks for your input!

I assume you mean Serial Digital Interface, if so I don't think my vcr is equipped with that, although I'm not 100%.

I was looking at the Blackmagic Intensity Shuttle earlier, but wasn't sure whether or not it was suitable for capturing analogue video. You mention USB 3.0 chipset support. However, I'm not sure where to check the chipset of the USB ports on my computer. Any ideas?

I was being sarcastic, prosumer SVHS players of the 90'ies don't have SDI. :)

I would check the laptop USB3 chipset with Windows Device Manager & Google.

There're threads about Intensity USB3 stuff in videohelp forums, eg: http://forum.videohelp.com/threads/3...huttle-Problem

I knew that, obviously ;)

I'm in the Device Manager as we speak, and I've expanded Universal Serial Bus (that's what I think it's called in English anyway. However, I have Swedish interface so I might be wrong). See the attached image

Looks like Intel C216 chipset to me. :p

This is the ATI 600 USB card, yes: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...0&linkCode=as2

It works great for Huffyuv AVI files captured via VirtualDub.
It's one of several "safe" cards known to work without any real flaws or problems.

The Tevion USB card is also very good:
- http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tevion-High-...item3ccb4b2c4e
- http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tevion-High-...item3ccb607071

It works remarkably well for a piece of video hardware sold through Aldi grocery stores! Again: Huffyuv lossless AVI via Vdub.

Thanks admin!

I looked at the customer review for the ATI 600, and the reviewer claims that there are no 64-bit drivers for Win7. I run 64-bit Win7 myself so if this is true, I won't be able to use it.

That reviewer clearly didn't see this: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide...i-600-usb.html

A lot of "customer reviews" say more about the customers than they do about the items supposedly being reviewed.
That person didn't do any research, I would imagine. Google would have led him or her here. :cool: